It’s a common scenario: you want to free up space in your Google Photos cloud storage but keep those precious memories safe on your phone. Deleting photos from Google Photos can be tricky because it might also remove them from your device if you’re not careful. This guide provides a clear, step-by-step process on how to delete photos from Google Photos backup without losing them from your phone or tablet.
To successfully remove backed-up photos and videos from Google Photos while ensuring they remain on your device, follow these instructions:
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Disable Backup on Your Devices: The first crucial step is to turn off the backup feature on every device where you want your photos to remain. This prevents Google Photos from syncing changes and potentially deleting local copies.
- On your computer or mobile browser, navigate to photos.google.com/login. This ensures you are accessing the web version of Google Photos for managing your cloud backups.
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Delete from Google Photos Website: After disabling backup, you can proceed to delete the desired photos and videos directly from the Google Photos website. This action will remove them from your cloud storage but not from your devices since backup is turned off.
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Verify Local Copies on Your Device: After deleting from the website, wait a few minutes and ensure your device is connected to Wi-Fi. Then, close and reopen the Google Photos app on your iPhone or iPad. This refresh ensures the app reflects the changes made online.
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It’s important to check the backup status of a photo to confirm it’s only a local copy. To do this, tap on a photo, then tap “More” (usually three dots). Scroll down to “Details.”
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This detail section will indicate whether the photo is still backed up or is now only stored locally on your device.
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Important Considerations:
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Benefits of Backup: Remember that by leaving backup off, you will lose the advantages of automatic cloud backup. These benefits include secure storage of your photos and videos, access from any device, and protection against device loss. Consider if disabling backup is the right long-term solution for your needs. Learn more about the benefits of Google Photos backup.
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Re-enabling Backup: If you decide to turn backup back on in the future, be aware of potential issues. In some instances, re-enabling backup might cause the photos you deleted from Google Photos to be backed up again, or, conversely, the local copies on your device might be deleted as the system resynchronizes. Learn how to turn on backup again.
By following these steps carefully, you can effectively manage your Google Photos storage and keep your photos exactly where you want them – on your device, in the cloud, or both.
